Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 7, Episode 24 - The Mourning After - full transcript
Help!
You mean he killed himself because
he couldn't get into a fraternity?
He wasn't forced to
make that swim that night.
No!
The kid is dead!
Are you telling me that
no crime was committed?
I'm afraid so.
Who was that on the phone?
Someone who claims Carey Stadler's wrists
were tied together the night he drowned.
My brother's dead.
And you won't even go after
those idiots who killed him.
Hey, school is out, fellas.
I'll show you a dozen guys who'll
tell you they saw Carey Sunday.
Then you'll all hang together.
Gentlemen, you are about to enter the
most fascinating sphere of police work.
The world of forensic medicine.
What have we here?
I said, what have we here?
We are the pledges.
We are the lowliest of the low.
The dregs. The pits.
The scum of the earth.
You boys didn't
finish your drinki-poos.
Hey, Saturday
night! Party night!
I can't...
I'm gonna be sick.
Drink it!
I'll drink it.
You see that buoy out there?
All that's standing between you
and making it into Phi Tau Epsilon
is the distance to
that buoy and back.
What'd he say? We gotta swim?
Well, either that
or walk on water.
And 'cause you guys didn't
finish your drinki-poos...
You can't use your hands.
Comfy there? Huh?
Nice, now.
Around that buoy and back.
At the count of three. Okay?
A one, and a two and a three.
- Same swim we made,
remember, Angus?
- Do I remember?
Come on! Way to go!
That's it. You almost made it.
Hey come on! Kick!
Help!
Help!
Hang on! We're comin'!
- Help!
- Guys!
Help!
Help!
Help!
I can't find him.
I don't believe it.
He's dead.
I'm scared, Angus.
What do we do?
I don't know.
We gotta think.
Dad, I know this
is lousy timing,
but I broke my good
racket yesterday.
The whole frame is cracked.
I really need a new one.
I thought we weren't going to
use the word 'new' around here,
until your father
got another job.
What about Carey's?
He doesn't use it much
and I'm sure he won't mind.
Well why don't we just ask him?
I mean, I don't think that's
a decision we should make.
It's Monday, he'll
be here for dinner.
What were you
doing playing tennis?
What were you doing playing
tennis? I thought Carey was going
to give you the grand tour
of the campus yesterday?
He never showed.
He was supposed to meet me at
one o'clock, at the student union,
and he stood me up.
That's hard to believe.
Not for me.
Why, he was always so gung ho about his
little brother going to Branham next year.
Strange way of showing it.
What was his excuse?
I haven't talked to him yet.
Well don't be so quick
to jump on your brother.
I'm sure there's a
perfectly good excuse.
I think I know what it is.
He didn't get accepted
into that fraternity.
Are you sure? He had
his heart set on that.
I talked to his
roommate yesterday.
Poor Carey.
Why didn't you tell us?
I figured he would call
and let you know himself.
Gar said he took it very hard.
I'll bet.
Awfully early for
visitors. Maybe it's Carey.
Huh.
Yes, son. I'm Lieutenant Monahan
from the Los Angeles Police Department.
This is Sergeant Brill.
We're looking for
a Kenneth Stadler.
Yeah, just a sec...
Mom, Dad. The police are here.
Come on in.
What is it?
I'm afraid we have the very
worst possible news to tell you.
Carey...
Something happened to Carey?
Yes, Ma'am.
We got a call from the
college early this morning.
They found your son dead in the
swimming pool of the men's gym.
We think he drowned.
No!
No, no, no, it's not possible.
It can't be Carey, no
it's gotta be a mistake.
He was identified by his
roommate. Gar Ryzewicz.
You're lying.
No.
You're lying. No.
No, no.
No.
How bout that? I was asked
to speak at a commencement.
That's great. Where?
Small place. Branham College.
I went to school with the Dean.
- Oh, that's ironic.
- Why, Sam?
The second autopsy on our list
happens to be a freshman from Branham.
The police report says he was fished
out of the swimming pool at the school,
sometime this morning.
All the external signs are
consistent with drowning.
You come up with anything?
- Ask and ye shall receive.
- What've you got?
Well, it's just a theory,
until you make it stick.
But we know the kid
was rushing a fraternity.
Only he didn't make it. He got
the bad news on Saturday night.
His roommate said that by
Sunday he was despondent.
See the way we figure,
Quincy, the kid was looped.
He broke into the school
gym about three this morning,
maybe between three and six.
Took a dive, and didn't come up.
You mean, he killed himself because
he couldn't get into a fraternity?
Maybe it was an accident.
I've seen stranger things
before though, Quincy.
I know this girl that killed
herself over a grade on a paper.
I'll let you know
if I find anything.
Oh by the way,
the victim's parents,
They followed me
over here, Quincy.
They're pretty shook up, so,
if you could let them know too.
- Sure. Thanks for the information.
- Yeah.
See you, Quince.
The stomach lining
is swollen with blood.
Hibernia is caused by alcohol.
Have we got a blood
alcohol level yet?
Phil's checking it now.
I'll bet it's high.
The stench of alcohol in
his viscera is overwhelming.
Pink foaming in the
mouth and trachea.
Lungs are swollen, edemaceous...
He died trying to breathe water.
Sam, Eddie got a picture of this lividity
pattern on the right side, didn't he?
Yeah, we were wondering
where could that have come from?
The people who found him must've
had him out of the water for several hours
for the blood to pool like that.
I'd better check that out
with Monahan, just to be safe.
Tell Eddie I want those pictures
as soon as they're printed.
Right.
Now, comes the
hardest part of all.
- Hello, I'm Doctor Quincy.
- Hi, I'm Ken Stadler.
My wife, Brenna.
My son, Nick.
Look, I don't care what you
say, Carey didn't kill himself!
Nick!
Let the doctor speak.
What did you find out?
We do know your son drank very
heavily just before he drowned.
That's not Carey.
He hated the taste of booze.
His blood alcohol
level was almost toxic.
Maybe he hated
something else even more.
You mean not getting
into that fraternity?
That's what the
police kept saying.
What do you say?
I know he had his
heart set on joining.
That was the way he was.
Everything was a
challenge with him.
I didn't get through high school,
but he was going to college.
He worked with me fixing
diesels, to make up the tuition.
You could put that boy
in front of any mountain,
and one way or another,
he'd get over it. Now why would
he give up, why would he quit?
In the middle of everything.
With all those
mountains ahead of him.
Maybe the climb got too steep.
No, he wouldn't do that.
He wouldn't kill himself.
I'm not going to any of this!
Look, I can't say that it
wasn't an accident, it's possible.
I need some more answers
to conclude the mode of death.
You got any kids, Doctor?
- No.
- I envy you.
You're never gonna
go through this.
You're never gonna have
somebody you cared for,
for eighteen years, taken
away from you. Just like that.
Come on Brenna. Let's go home.
Home?
Oh yeah. Yes, let's go home.
I got a lotta things to do.
It's Monday.
I love our family
dinners on Monday.
- Lab, Fujiyama.
- Quincy?
Hang on, Lieutenant,
he's right here.
Quince, Monahan.
- Yeah, Lieutenant.
- Yeah, Quincy.
I talked to that janitor
you asked me about.
You know, the one
who found the boy?
Well, he said he laid the
body face up on the ground,
and it was there for, well,
not more than 20 minutes tops
before your boys picked him up.
- 20 minutes?
- Is he sure?
Positive.
Thanks, Lieutenant.
What is it, Quince?
That lividity pattern on
Carey Stadler's body.
It couldn't have been
formed between the time
he was pulled from that
pool and put on a stretcher.
The janitor said only
twenty minutes elapsed.
Then how did it get there?
When we find out how long he's been
dead, we'll probably have that answer.
I want you to analyze
the water in the lungs.
Then I want a potassium and sodium
level on the vitreous fluid of the eye.
That should give us a good
idea of when the boy died.
And analyzing the
water in the lungs?
That should tell us where.
Let me know as soon as
you're finished, will you?
All right.
Another working lunch, huh?
- Is that supposed
to be your diet?
- Very funny.
Listen, here's the
figures you wanted.
20 more hazing deaths
nationwide, in the last three years.
It's incredible. We're regressing.
The problem's getting worse.
Quincy, what's this
research all about?
Well, I'm going to drop in
on my friend Bill Ingersoll.
I wanna drown him
in some of these facts.
The Dean at Branham College? Is
he the one you went to school with?
He was the guy on the
white charger at our school.
I can imagine how this senseless
death must be weighing on his conscience.
Well, it was just one of those
freaky situations. What can you do?
What'd you mean, what can
you do? You can ban hazing.
Oh, come on, Quincy.
Is it that many years ago that
we were in school together?
Don't tell me you've forgotten
all the crazy things we used to do.
I can't remember ever forcing
liquor down someone's throat.
All right, I talked to all
the young men involved.
Now nobody coerced
the young man to drink
or to do anything else.
So if there were
errors in judgment,
they were his.
You're sure of that?
Absolutely.
Oh Bill, I wish I was.
What concerns me about this is,
how easy it is to shrug
off a death like this.
How easy it is to forget that
it never should've happened.
I just don't think
you're being fair.
Now I'm not trying to
defend the excesses,
but I just don't want this whole
institution to bcome tarnished
because of one
misguided adventure.
Who's to say it
won't happen again?
Quincy, I've been dean of
this school for a long, long time.
And this is the very
first incident like this.
But one is one too many.
You could make sure it was the
last. All you have to do is ban hazing.
I'm sorry, Quincy. I just don't
think you've got the answer.
Have you have a better one?
I really think that you're making
mountains out of a molehills.
Time is a great healer.
A double-cliche?
From the Dean of a college?
Well, I guess in a situation like
this, it's pretty hard to be original.
Or, evidently, daring.
About the commencement,
I'm gonna need more
time to think about it.
Quincy, you're
the same stubborn,
two-fisted fighter that
you were in college.
You haven't changed.
But you have, Bill.
You have.
On behalf of the National
Chapter of Phi Tau Epsilon,
I want to congratulate all of you
on being accepted into what we think
is the most stand-up
fraternity in the country.
Yeah!
I know this last week,
what with the tragedy of one of
your classmates taking his life,
I know it hasn't been easy.
And Hell Week is never easy.
Come tomorrow night,
though, when I call your name
and you pick up that pin
that says Phi Tau Epsilon.
You're all gonna know
what this has been about,
I'm proud of each
and every one of you.
Now, I'd like to bring
up Angus Scotford,
your rush chairman.
Angus!
I know, as rush chairman, a lot of
you guys must've hated my guts.
Look at it this way, the
paddle's in your hands now.
For the next three
years, it's your turn.
Their turn to take a life?
Excuse me. This
is a private meeting.
So private you can't tell
anyone else what happened
to Carey Stadler
on Saturday night?
Ask anybody! Carey never made the
cut. He wasn't even with us on Saturday!
Then you'll be surprised to
find out that's when he died.
- Who told you that?
- Carey Stadler.
I did the autopsy on him.
He was dead for two days, but
his body told me the whole story.
The sodium and potassium levels in his
eyes told me he died on Saturday night,
between midnight and 4:00 am.
And the algae in his lungs told
me he never drowned in that pool.
He died in a lake.
There's a lot more, anybody
want to read my report?
I'll show you a dozen guys who'll
tell you they saw Carey on Sunday.
And I'll show you a
dozen liars just as fast.
Listen, nobody here has to say anything to
this man till we find what this is about.
Then you'll hang together.
Hey, school is out, fellas.
You better all do some
fast soul-searching.
Because if you tell a judge the
same fairy tale that you told the police,
I'll personally will see to it that each
and every one of you does time for perjury.
And that's just for openers.
One way or another,
your wall of silence
is coming down.
All right, go on.
I told you, it was a
stupid thing to do.
We were scared.
We thought someone would blame
us for what happened to Carey.
You've got to believe me. Nobody forced
Carey to make that swim. It was his choice.
Like it was 'his choice'
to be dumped in the pool?
I'm sorry.
I don't know what else to say.
All right, Angus,
that's all for now.
We'll keep in touch if we
need you for anything else.
Okay, let's go.
Well, it's the same
story as the rest of them.
They all say nobody
was forced to do anything.
And what the Stadler kid
did was his own choice.
They lied the first time they were
questioned. Maybe they're still lying.
The problem is proof, Quincy.
They claim Carey
endangered his own life.
That the accident was his fault.
Accident?
You just heard them say nobody got into
that fraternity without making that swim!
I agree with you.
You know, the pressure
must've been enormous.
You are gonna press charges against
the two boys who were with Stadler?
What do I charge them with?
Ask a Philadelphia lawyer!
The kid is dead. Are you telling
me that no crime was committed?
I'm afraid so.
Even though they tried to cover
up the circumstances of the death?
Not unless we could prove
that death was wrongful.
You're just going to
close the book on it?
I haven't got anything else
to go on, I have no choice.
I don't know why
you bought curry.
Carey could never stand it.
What did the police
say about Carey's death?
I'm forgetting my plants.
Better get some
water, before they die.
Oh, I put my foot
in my mouth again.
Dad, it's so weird.
She even set a place for Carey.
She needs time, Nick.
Yeah.
So, what did the police
say about Carey's death?
Well, thanks to Doctor
Quincy's investigation.
They knew who was with
Carey, when he made that swim.
It was the same two who put
him in the pool the next day.
They know who did it?
- Well, did they arrest them?
- No.
They're not going to either.
What?
Nothing's gonna
happen to those guys?
Not without evidence
they just don't have.
I don't believe it! Well, you're
gonna do something, aren't you?
I have been doing something!
I've been up since 6:30 this
morning, making funeral arrangements.
I've been talking to
the police, to coroners.
I'm spending more time with
strangers than I have with my own family!
I gotta bury my son.
And then I'm going to made sure
that the rest of us get on with our lives.
That's a cop-out
and you know it!
My brother's dead.
Mom's walking around here
like nothing ever happened.
And you won't even go after
those idiots who killed him.
He's already buried and forgotten
as far as you're concerned!
You don't even give a damn!
Don't you ever...
Nick.
I almost struck you.
I never hit you in anger. Never.
What the hell is
happening to us?
You've never talked
to me like that before.
It's all falling apart. First, we lose
Carey. Now your mother is slipping away.
Dad, she makes me
feel like I killed him.
Nick. Nick, look, I know
this isn't easy for you either.
We all loved Carey.
But whatever you and
I are going through,
is nothing compared to what
that woman must be going through.
She's drowning.
Just as sure as Carey
drowned, she's going under too.
And she will too,
unless we can help her.
Now, I can't do it alone.
I can't hold this family
together without your help.
Oh, excuse me.
Did you know that Carey would
never let me replace his old clothes.
I mean, would you
look at those tears?
I better get this
mended before...
What are you doing?
Just taking the tennis racket.
Put it back. That's
Carey's racket.
- I know, but...
- Put it back.
Ma, Carey's dead.
Keeping his room the way
it was won't bring him back!
Right this minute, young man!
I'm sorry.
Nick! Guard told me you
were here, nice surprise.
- To me too...
- Sit, sit. Come on.
I'm sorry about the
last time I was here.
I guess I had you all wrong.
Well you were right about
Carey not taking his own life.
You're the only one who's been honest
with us about what happened to Carey.
I didn't know who
else to turn to.
For what, Nick? What's wrong?
Everything's wrong.
Nothing's the
same since he died.
It's like there's a...
Big hole in the
middle of our lives.
You try to go around it,
to live your life,
but you can't.
You keep getting
sucked into that hole.
Except my mother.
She's living in some
kinda dream world.
She won't even admit
that he's really dead.
It's so weird.
I've never seen her like this...
And my father.
He's trying so hard
not to show the pain,
it's tearing him up.
What about you, Nick?
Me?
I'm so mad,
I'm so mad, I'm afraid I'm
gonna do something nuts.
I don't even know
who I'm mad at.
I mean, those
fraternity guys mostly.
My parents.
Sometimes I'm even mad at
Carey. I know that sounds terrible.
No it doesn't.
Anger's a natural thing
after a loss like this.
Maybe you're expecting too much
of yourself, Nick, and your parents.
All I know is,
things are getting
worse, not better.
Nick, if I could put all of you
in touch with someone who
might be able
to help all of you,
could you get them to go?
If we don't get some help,
and soon,
there's not gonna be
a family to worry about.
Diana, this is the police follow-up
after Doctor Quincy's report.
- Thanks, Bob.
- Yes, come in.
Quincy!
I'd like you to meet
Doctor Diana Green.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
Tops in her field.
Doctor Asten's said wonderful
things about your therapy programs.
I understand you're concerned
about the family of that boy
who died in the hazing.
Yes, I am.
I know your groups are mainly
families of murdered children.
From these reports
I've been reading,
what those young men
did amounts to murder.
I couldn't agree with you more.
The grief process is very much the
same any time a family member dies.
Only when it's
sudden, unexpected,
and particularly
when it's violent,
each stage of that process
is that much more intense,
and more frustrating.
When it's murder,
the family's suddenly forced
to deal with lots of outsiders.
Police, coroners,
sometimes the press.
And, it can be hellish.
And it can interfere
with the grieving.
What exactly do you
mean by 'the grief process'?
In a nutshell?
Four stages,
first there's...
The shock, the disbelief,
the denial, then...
Then, sadness, crushing
bouts of depression,
outpourings of grief.
Third is anger, at the world,
even at the one who died.
Finally, if you've been
through all the other three,
there's acceptance.
Well, what happens if you
don't go through all those stages?
Then you can be
in a lot of trouble.
You can get stuck.
There's no resolution,
no acceptance.
Well, I'm no authority,
but from what their son
told me, this family is stuck.
Just the way you describe it.
- Can you help them?
- If they'll see me.
If we can sit down
and talk about it.
Then, at least we've
got a fighting chance.
I guess the hardest part is...
Not being able to
get away from it.
I keep thinking about him
fighting for his
life in that water.
And those guys who made him
do it. All just for a stupid fraternity.
I can't help it. I think...
I think about killing them...
getting a gun, a knife, I don't know.
Walking right up
and killing them.
And then I think, I'm no
better than they are, am I?
Of course, you're angry.
When I heard how
Carey died, I was angry.
And I'm not a family member.
What about you, Mrs. Stadler.
Have you had feelings like that?
No, I really don't
have anything to say.
No one's here to
judge your feelings.
Come on, Ma. You
gotta say something.
That's why we came here.
No, that's why you came here.
I came here because you
wouldn't take no for an answer.
Brenna, please.
No, no. He forced
us to come here.
And now he's trying to force us to talk
about things I don't know anything about.
Mom, you've gotta at least try.
- Nicholas, stop hounding me!
- Ma, come on.
Better go look after my family.
They're the ones who
really need the help.
Thank you, Doctor.
You know, Mr. Stadler.
You have as much need to grieve
as either your wife or son.
And you haven't even begun.
Well, I have more important
things to do than cry, Doctor Green.
I was wrong...
The hardest part is knowing that this
could happen again to somebody else's kid.
I'm not so different than Nick.
I think about those boys, too.
The police said they
can't prove it's a crime.
I just accepted that.
It's what's been eating me up
inside and I didn't even know it.
Nick was right.
We can't let them
get away with it.
Hello, Gar.
Carey's things are on the desk.
You're moving too?
I move into the frat
house this afternoon.
Gar...
I need to know exactly
what happened to Carey.
I told you.
I told the police, too.
What else do you want?
The truth,
please.
It is the truth.
The whole truth?
Carey wasn't forced to drink?
No!
He wasn't forced to
make that swim that night?
No!
You were Carey's roommate,
his friend.
Who are you protecting?
Look,
Mr. Stadler.
I feel terrible about Carey.
But I can't bring him back.
And sir, I can't tell you
some thing happened,
just because it's
what you want to hear.
There's nothing
else we should know?
I've told you everything.
When Nick came to see you on
Sunday, you told him everything too.
Except that his
brother was dead.
Why should I believe you, now?
Wasn't that Carey's father?
It sure was.
Well, what did he want?
He wanted the truth.
Yeah well you didn't
tell him, did you?
No, I didn't.
I lied.
Rich...
Carey didn't save your life.
He saved mine.
Doctor Quincy.
Don't ask who this is.
I just wanted you to know that
Carey Stadler was forced into that lake
and he had his
wrists tied together.
Who is it?
Hello!
Hello!
Who was that on the phone?
Someone who claims Carey Stadler's wrists
were tied together the night he drowned.
You think it's a crank call?
I don't know.
The only way to find out is to
get permission to disinter the body,
and take a closer
look at the wrists.
I'll let you know
what we decide.
That was Doctor Quincy.
He said they got
an anonymous call.
Someone said that Carey...
that Carey's hands were tied
together when he drowned.
His hands were tied?
They really did murder Carey!
He wants permission to
dig up Carey's body,
to see if he can prove it.
It may be our only chance!
We've gotta let him do it.
I don't know.
I don't believe this.
Look at your mother.
Do we really want to put her
through the hell that this would mean?
I don't know.
You're not helping her, Dad!
You help her keep that lie alive,
and it's gonna hurt her even more.
Carey's gone!
She's not gonna bet
better until she accepts that!
That anonymous
caller wasn't a crank.
There's a slight crease
pattern in this bruise,
exactly the way it would be if a broad
band of material tied the wrists together.
Monahan said he needed more information?
And so did the District Attorney.
Well, now they've got it.
Did I interrupt something?
No, I was just
finishing these notes.
I brought you some flowers.
You know I don't like cut flowers.
They remind me of the funeral.
Carey always brought
me plants. Living plants.
I'll put them in water.
And now for my next surprise.
Don't you want
to know what it is?
Well, I don't really have the
energy for guessing games.
You know that
cabin on June Lake?
The one we spent that week
in when Carey and I were kids?
Well, I booked it
for next weekend.
Nick, how are we
gonna pay for that?
I took care of it. I
used my own money.
That's money for college.
I thought this was
more important.
Yeah well, I really don't
feel like going on a trip so
Why don't you
and your father go?
And leave you behind?
Now way! I did it for you, Ma.
I never asked you to.
You once said that cabin was in
the prettiest spot on Earth, remember?
Yeah, but that was
a long time ago.
Look, why don't you get your money
back and stop acting like a little fool!
Aha. Okay.
I can't do anything
right, can I?
I just wish everybody
would leave me alone.
Well, you got your wish.
I'm moving out of here.
You mean when you, when
you're going to Branham.
No, I'm not going to Branham.
Barry Cosgrove's uncle
has a body shop in Eureka.
He offered to take me
on as an apprentice, and
I think I just made up my mind!
Nick, come one. You can't mean that.
After all you did to make it to college?
It doesn't seem
important any more.
Well, I'm not surprised.
You never finished anything in
your life! You're certainly not...
Like Carey, right?
Go ahead and say
it, I'm not like Carey.
That's not what she
was going to say.
No? Ask her.
- Nick!
- You know Carey,
I never could compete with Carey.
He was always a little smarter,
a little more thoughtful. Mom
always loved him just a little more.
That's not true!
Tell him it isn't true.
It was hard enough keeping
up with Carey when he was alive.
How am I going to live up to your
memory of him now that he's dead?
If I stay here, I'll just
go on disappointing you.
You're not disappointing us!
Brenna, tell him!
Well if he feels uncomfortable in this
house, maybe he should look for another.
Do you know what
you've just said?
It wasn't like anybody
forced Carey into that water.
We all had a choice
about making that swim.
Here's my full report on that
re-autopsy of Carey Stadler.
Oh, thanks, Quincy.
I'll shoot it right over to
the DA as soon as I'm done.
What are we listening to?
I'm listening to
the kids testimony.
I know that voice.
That's the anonymous caller who
tipped me about the wrist restraints.
Well, he's not
anonymous anymore.
Gar Wyserwitz.
I was way behind Carey and Rich.
When I started seizing up,
my arms just locked.
I couldn't breathe.
Carey freed up his hands,
and he came back for me.
He saved my life.
Then he got you safely to shore?
Almost.
He was just too
exhausted to go on.
They tried saving him.
- Who did?
- Angus and Bo.
They swam out,
and dragged us both back.
But, for Carey, it was too late.
If Carey hadn't
gone back for me.
He'd be alive.
And I would've been the
one they put in the pool.
Thanks, Gar. That'll
be all. We'll be in touch.
Well, Jim, what do you think?
Well, as far as the
DA's office is concerned,
we don't have enough
for a murder case.
But you just heard him!
He was there! He saw it!
Carey's hands were tied when
he was forced to make that swim!
But he also said
Carey removed those
restraints when he
circled back to rescue Gar.
You can be sure the defense will claim that
he could've taken them off at any time,
and I'd be hard
put to disprove it.
On top of that, he just
corroborated the fact that
those boys tried to
save Carey Stadler.
You know what's ironic, the
best witness for the prosecution
winds up to be the best
witness for the defense.
Without clear evidence of malice,
I'd be crazy to go for a murder case.
What about dropping it into
involuntary manslaughter?
That's what I'm getting at.
I think they're ready
for a plea bargain.
You call it plea
bargaining! I call it a crime.
If I were you, Mr. Stadler,
I'd consider a civil case.
You have a better chance of winning
and you'd get some remuneration as well.
Is that what you think I want?
Listen, mister,
I haven't been putting my
family through this hell for money.
Of course not. That's
not what I mean...
Just tell me,
if they plead guilty to those
charges, what will they get?
It'll take some negotiating to
do, but I'd hold out for three years.
Three years in prison
for killing my son?
I'm afraid they wouldn't see any prison
time. Not if you want them to plead guilty.
Those three years would be
the length of their probation.
I was watching that!
I was just watching Nick.
Watching him sleep.
I was thinking it
was the last time.
All those years,
looking in on the boys,
to see if they were okay.
It's all over.
Brenna,
he's leaving tomorrow.
He's not a baby
anymore. I can't help that.
You're the only one
who can stop him!
He's leaving because he
thinks that's what you want!
Is it what you want?
Please, Ken, I can't
cope with all of this.
- Just let me be, please.
- No.
No more.
I've been tiptoeing around
you ever since Carey died.
I didn't want to make
you even more upset.
But, Brenna, open your eyes.
We're losing him. We're losing Nick!
And don't turn away from me.
I want you to hear this out.
Maybe Carey was your favorite.
But he's dead.
Maybe Nick was second best.
But he's alive, and he's
still part of this family!
Stop it!
You stop it!
Stop blaming Nick for
being the one to survive!
Why couldn't it have
been Nick who died?
So, Nicholas is
leaving me today.
Oh, I feel dizzy.
I can't even talk to my husband
about this, how am I gonna talk to you.
Maybe it'll help
you to know that,
not all my learning
came from books.
I've been through
this same agony.
My eight-year-old son was
abducted in a shopping mall.
I turned around for a
second and he was gone.
Three days later they
found him in a storm drain.
His throat was cut.
I am a therapist, but in no way
was I equipped to cope with the pain.
Not until I went into grief
counseling with a specialist,
so you see, I'm not a stranger.
It hurts so bad.
Because, I never had a
chance to say good-bye.
I never had a chance
to get ready, to be prepared,
to tell him all the things I wanted
to tell him while Carey was alive.
Sometimes,
I think I'll wake up
and it will all be a bad dream.
And then Nicholas comes in
and shows me it's not a bad dream.
I don't like that.
I don't want him to
take Carey's place.
Nobody is going to
take Carey's place.
Not for any of you.
Not in your hearts.
Not in your lives.
If you ask me,
will I laugh again,
enjoy myself, be
close to others?
The answer is yes.
But if you ask me
will I ever get over it?
Will I ever stop
feeling the loss?
Yeah.
The answer is no.
Even after you've
accepted Carey's death,
the void he left behind,
it'll never be filled.
Nick's not Carey.
He's a separate person.
You lose him, and you will
feel a loss you haven't felt yet.
I know.
Where's Ma?
Out.
What'd she do? Go shopping?
That's just terrific.
I'm leaving and she can't
even be here to say good-bye.
Why don't you call Barry.
Tell him you need
more time to think it over.
He'll be here any minute.
The plant called this morning.
They got a new contract.
Going back to work next week.
That's wonderful, Dad.
So, things will
be back to normal.
Without Carey?
We'll keep going to
see Doctor Green.
She'll help us work things out.
How? Mom won't
go. You know that!
She has to go!
- I'll make her go!
- It won't work.
Look, I don't want to
leave you and Mom.
I can't watch her heart break every time
she looks at me and wishes I were Carey.
I see you're all packed.
Where have you been?
Talking to someone.
Barry's here.
I don't want you to go.
What?
We need you.
I need you.
What about Carey?
Carey's dead.
We'll always love him.
But if keeping him alive
means losing you,
I have to let him go.
I love you.
Come here!
I love you!
I love you too.
Everything about a
commencement says tradition.
The diplomas inscribed in Latin,
these ceremonial robes,
the gathering of
family and friends.
I'm a great believer in tradition.
It connects us with the past.
But I am not a believer in a
tradition that stays in the past.
A tradition that has allowed 5,000
years of civilization to pass it by.
They tested necessary
survival skills.
They were challenges
that had meaning.
Not so, with hazing.
It has no meaning.
It has no purpose.
Carey Stadler was
an exceptional child.
But, so are the rest of you.
His father told me,
he was one of those kids
who loved a challenge.
But you lied to him.
You told him that hazing was
a mountain he had to climb.
For what purpose?
To help him survive? No.
To enlighten him? No.
How does it prepare you for the
future, to drink enough alcohol,
fast enough to
poison your blood?
Or to swim across a lake in a drunken
stupor with your hands tied together.
Over the last decade,
sixty young people have lost
their lives in hazing incidents.
Please,
don't ask another Carey Stadler
to put his life on the line for nothing.
He went to college, not to war.
He died on a dare
defending nothing.
For the benefit of no one.
Nothing could be further
from the real meaning
of tradition, that
it should value life.
Not destroy it.
So, please, tell those who
follow in your footsteps,
that it's high time a
new tradition started.
One that eliminates
senseless rituals, like hazing.
Because, unless you do,
unless you allow 5,000
years of civilization
to catch up with
your sense of right,
Carey's death would
have been meaningless.
It's up to you.
You mean he killed himself because
he couldn't get into a fraternity?
He wasn't forced to
make that swim that night.
No!
The kid is dead!
Are you telling me that
no crime was committed?
I'm afraid so.
Who was that on the phone?
Someone who claims Carey Stadler's wrists
were tied together the night he drowned.
My brother's dead.
And you won't even go after
those idiots who killed him.
Hey, school is out, fellas.
I'll show you a dozen guys who'll
tell you they saw Carey Sunday.
Then you'll all hang together.
Gentlemen, you are about to enter the
most fascinating sphere of police work.
The world of forensic medicine.
What have we here?
I said, what have we here?
We are the pledges.
We are the lowliest of the low.
The dregs. The pits.
The scum of the earth.
You boys didn't
finish your drinki-poos.
Hey, Saturday
night! Party night!
I can't...
I'm gonna be sick.
Drink it!
I'll drink it.
You see that buoy out there?
All that's standing between you
and making it into Phi Tau Epsilon
is the distance to
that buoy and back.
What'd he say? We gotta swim?
Well, either that
or walk on water.
And 'cause you guys didn't
finish your drinki-poos...
You can't use your hands.
Comfy there? Huh?
Nice, now.
Around that buoy and back.
At the count of three. Okay?
A one, and a two and a three.
- Same swim we made,
remember, Angus?
- Do I remember?
Come on! Way to go!
That's it. You almost made it.
Hey come on! Kick!
Help!
Help!
Hang on! We're comin'!
- Help!
- Guys!
Help!
Help!
Help!
I can't find him.
I don't believe it.
He's dead.
I'm scared, Angus.
What do we do?
I don't know.
We gotta think.
Dad, I know this
is lousy timing,
but I broke my good
racket yesterday.
The whole frame is cracked.
I really need a new one.
I thought we weren't going to
use the word 'new' around here,
until your father
got another job.
What about Carey's?
He doesn't use it much
and I'm sure he won't mind.
Well why don't we just ask him?
I mean, I don't think that's
a decision we should make.
It's Monday, he'll
be here for dinner.
What were you
doing playing tennis?
What were you doing playing
tennis? I thought Carey was going
to give you the grand tour
of the campus yesterday?
He never showed.
He was supposed to meet me at
one o'clock, at the student union,
and he stood me up.
That's hard to believe.
Not for me.
Why, he was always so gung ho about his
little brother going to Branham next year.
Strange way of showing it.
What was his excuse?
I haven't talked to him yet.
Well don't be so quick
to jump on your brother.
I'm sure there's a
perfectly good excuse.
I think I know what it is.
He didn't get accepted
into that fraternity.
Are you sure? He had
his heart set on that.
I talked to his
roommate yesterday.
Poor Carey.
Why didn't you tell us?
I figured he would call
and let you know himself.
Gar said he took it very hard.
I'll bet.
Awfully early for
visitors. Maybe it's Carey.
Huh.
Yes, son. I'm Lieutenant Monahan
from the Los Angeles Police Department.
This is Sergeant Brill.
We're looking for
a Kenneth Stadler.
Yeah, just a sec...
Mom, Dad. The police are here.
Come on in.
What is it?
I'm afraid we have the very
worst possible news to tell you.
Carey...
Something happened to Carey?
Yes, Ma'am.
We got a call from the
college early this morning.
They found your son dead in the
swimming pool of the men's gym.
We think he drowned.
No!
No, no, no, it's not possible.
It can't be Carey, no
it's gotta be a mistake.
He was identified by his
roommate. Gar Ryzewicz.
You're lying.
No.
You're lying. No.
No, no.
No.
How bout that? I was asked
to speak at a commencement.
That's great. Where?
Small place. Branham College.
I went to school with the Dean.
- Oh, that's ironic.
- Why, Sam?
The second autopsy on our list
happens to be a freshman from Branham.
The police report says he was fished
out of the swimming pool at the school,
sometime this morning.
All the external signs are
consistent with drowning.
You come up with anything?
- Ask and ye shall receive.
- What've you got?
Well, it's just a theory,
until you make it stick.
But we know the kid
was rushing a fraternity.
Only he didn't make it. He got
the bad news on Saturday night.
His roommate said that by
Sunday he was despondent.
See the way we figure,
Quincy, the kid was looped.
He broke into the school
gym about three this morning,
maybe between three and six.
Took a dive, and didn't come up.
You mean, he killed himself because
he couldn't get into a fraternity?
Maybe it was an accident.
I've seen stranger things
before though, Quincy.
I know this girl that killed
herself over a grade on a paper.
I'll let you know
if I find anything.
Oh by the way,
the victim's parents,
They followed me
over here, Quincy.
They're pretty shook up, so,
if you could let them know too.
- Sure. Thanks for the information.
- Yeah.
See you, Quince.
The stomach lining
is swollen with blood.
Hibernia is caused by alcohol.
Have we got a blood
alcohol level yet?
Phil's checking it now.
I'll bet it's high.
The stench of alcohol in
his viscera is overwhelming.
Pink foaming in the
mouth and trachea.
Lungs are swollen, edemaceous...
He died trying to breathe water.
Sam, Eddie got a picture of this lividity
pattern on the right side, didn't he?
Yeah, we were wondering
where could that have come from?
The people who found him must've
had him out of the water for several hours
for the blood to pool like that.
I'd better check that out
with Monahan, just to be safe.
Tell Eddie I want those pictures
as soon as they're printed.
Right.
Now, comes the
hardest part of all.
- Hello, I'm Doctor Quincy.
- Hi, I'm Ken Stadler.
My wife, Brenna.
My son, Nick.
Look, I don't care what you
say, Carey didn't kill himself!
Nick!
Let the doctor speak.
What did you find out?
We do know your son drank very
heavily just before he drowned.
That's not Carey.
He hated the taste of booze.
His blood alcohol
level was almost toxic.
Maybe he hated
something else even more.
You mean not getting
into that fraternity?
That's what the
police kept saying.
What do you say?
I know he had his
heart set on joining.
That was the way he was.
Everything was a
challenge with him.
I didn't get through high school,
but he was going to college.
He worked with me fixing
diesels, to make up the tuition.
You could put that boy
in front of any mountain,
and one way or another,
he'd get over it. Now why would
he give up, why would he quit?
In the middle of everything.
With all those
mountains ahead of him.
Maybe the climb got too steep.
No, he wouldn't do that.
He wouldn't kill himself.
I'm not going to any of this!
Look, I can't say that it
wasn't an accident, it's possible.
I need some more answers
to conclude the mode of death.
You got any kids, Doctor?
- No.
- I envy you.
You're never gonna
go through this.
You're never gonna have
somebody you cared for,
for eighteen years, taken
away from you. Just like that.
Come on Brenna. Let's go home.
Home?
Oh yeah. Yes, let's go home.
I got a lotta things to do.
It's Monday.
I love our family
dinners on Monday.
- Lab, Fujiyama.
- Quincy?
Hang on, Lieutenant,
he's right here.
Quince, Monahan.
- Yeah, Lieutenant.
- Yeah, Quincy.
I talked to that janitor
you asked me about.
You know, the one
who found the boy?
Well, he said he laid the
body face up on the ground,
and it was there for, well,
not more than 20 minutes tops
before your boys picked him up.
- 20 minutes?
- Is he sure?
Positive.
Thanks, Lieutenant.
What is it, Quince?
That lividity pattern on
Carey Stadler's body.
It couldn't have been
formed between the time
he was pulled from that
pool and put on a stretcher.
The janitor said only
twenty minutes elapsed.
Then how did it get there?
When we find out how long he's been
dead, we'll probably have that answer.
I want you to analyze
the water in the lungs.
Then I want a potassium and sodium
level on the vitreous fluid of the eye.
That should give us a good
idea of when the boy died.
And analyzing the
water in the lungs?
That should tell us where.
Let me know as soon as
you're finished, will you?
All right.
Another working lunch, huh?
- Is that supposed
to be your diet?
- Very funny.
Listen, here's the
figures you wanted.
20 more hazing deaths
nationwide, in the last three years.
It's incredible. We're regressing.
The problem's getting worse.
Quincy, what's this
research all about?
Well, I'm going to drop in
on my friend Bill Ingersoll.
I wanna drown him
in some of these facts.
The Dean at Branham College? Is
he the one you went to school with?
He was the guy on the
white charger at our school.
I can imagine how this senseless
death must be weighing on his conscience.
Well, it was just one of those
freaky situations. What can you do?
What'd you mean, what can
you do? You can ban hazing.
Oh, come on, Quincy.
Is it that many years ago that
we were in school together?
Don't tell me you've forgotten
all the crazy things we used to do.
I can't remember ever forcing
liquor down someone's throat.
All right, I talked to all
the young men involved.
Now nobody coerced
the young man to drink
or to do anything else.
So if there were
errors in judgment,
they were his.
You're sure of that?
Absolutely.
Oh Bill, I wish I was.
What concerns me about this is,
how easy it is to shrug
off a death like this.
How easy it is to forget that
it never should've happened.
I just don't think
you're being fair.
Now I'm not trying to
defend the excesses,
but I just don't want this whole
institution to bcome tarnished
because of one
misguided adventure.
Who's to say it
won't happen again?
Quincy, I've been dean of
this school for a long, long time.
And this is the very
first incident like this.
But one is one too many.
You could make sure it was the
last. All you have to do is ban hazing.
I'm sorry, Quincy. I just don't
think you've got the answer.
Have you have a better one?
I really think that you're making
mountains out of a molehills.
Time is a great healer.
A double-cliche?
From the Dean of a college?
Well, I guess in a situation like
this, it's pretty hard to be original.
Or, evidently, daring.
About the commencement,
I'm gonna need more
time to think about it.
Quincy, you're
the same stubborn,
two-fisted fighter that
you were in college.
You haven't changed.
But you have, Bill.
You have.
On behalf of the National
Chapter of Phi Tau Epsilon,
I want to congratulate all of you
on being accepted into what we think
is the most stand-up
fraternity in the country.
Yeah!
I know this last week,
what with the tragedy of one of
your classmates taking his life,
I know it hasn't been easy.
And Hell Week is never easy.
Come tomorrow night,
though, when I call your name
and you pick up that pin
that says Phi Tau Epsilon.
You're all gonna know
what this has been about,
I'm proud of each
and every one of you.
Now, I'd like to bring
up Angus Scotford,
your rush chairman.
Angus!
I know, as rush chairman, a lot of
you guys must've hated my guts.
Look at it this way, the
paddle's in your hands now.
For the next three
years, it's your turn.
Their turn to take a life?
Excuse me. This
is a private meeting.
So private you can't tell
anyone else what happened
to Carey Stadler
on Saturday night?
Ask anybody! Carey never made the
cut. He wasn't even with us on Saturday!
Then you'll be surprised to
find out that's when he died.
- Who told you that?
- Carey Stadler.
I did the autopsy on him.
He was dead for two days, but
his body told me the whole story.
The sodium and potassium levels in his
eyes told me he died on Saturday night,
between midnight and 4:00 am.
And the algae in his lungs told
me he never drowned in that pool.
He died in a lake.
There's a lot more, anybody
want to read my report?
I'll show you a dozen guys who'll
tell you they saw Carey on Sunday.
And I'll show you a
dozen liars just as fast.
Listen, nobody here has to say anything to
this man till we find what this is about.
Then you'll hang together.
Hey, school is out, fellas.
You better all do some
fast soul-searching.
Because if you tell a judge the
same fairy tale that you told the police,
I'll personally will see to it that each
and every one of you does time for perjury.
And that's just for openers.
One way or another,
your wall of silence
is coming down.
All right, go on.
I told you, it was a
stupid thing to do.
We were scared.
We thought someone would blame
us for what happened to Carey.
You've got to believe me. Nobody forced
Carey to make that swim. It was his choice.
Like it was 'his choice'
to be dumped in the pool?
I'm sorry.
I don't know what else to say.
All right, Angus,
that's all for now.
We'll keep in touch if we
need you for anything else.
Okay, let's go.
Well, it's the same
story as the rest of them.
They all say nobody
was forced to do anything.
And what the Stadler kid
did was his own choice.
They lied the first time they were
questioned. Maybe they're still lying.
The problem is proof, Quincy.
They claim Carey
endangered his own life.
That the accident was his fault.
Accident?
You just heard them say nobody got into
that fraternity without making that swim!
I agree with you.
You know, the pressure
must've been enormous.
You are gonna press charges against
the two boys who were with Stadler?
What do I charge them with?
Ask a Philadelphia lawyer!
The kid is dead. Are you telling
me that no crime was committed?
I'm afraid so.
Even though they tried to cover
up the circumstances of the death?
Not unless we could prove
that death was wrongful.
You're just going to
close the book on it?
I haven't got anything else
to go on, I have no choice.
I don't know why
you bought curry.
Carey could never stand it.
What did the police
say about Carey's death?
I'm forgetting my plants.
Better get some
water, before they die.
Oh, I put my foot
in my mouth again.
Dad, it's so weird.
She even set a place for Carey.
She needs time, Nick.
Yeah.
So, what did the police
say about Carey's death?
Well, thanks to Doctor
Quincy's investigation.
They knew who was with
Carey, when he made that swim.
It was the same two who put
him in the pool the next day.
They know who did it?
- Well, did they arrest them?
- No.
They're not going to either.
What?
Nothing's gonna
happen to those guys?
Not without evidence
they just don't have.
I don't believe it! Well, you're
gonna do something, aren't you?
I have been doing something!
I've been up since 6:30 this
morning, making funeral arrangements.
I've been talking to
the police, to coroners.
I'm spending more time with
strangers than I have with my own family!
I gotta bury my son.
And then I'm going to made sure
that the rest of us get on with our lives.
That's a cop-out
and you know it!
My brother's dead.
Mom's walking around here
like nothing ever happened.
And you won't even go after
those idiots who killed him.
He's already buried and forgotten
as far as you're concerned!
You don't even give a damn!
Don't you ever...
Nick.
I almost struck you.
I never hit you in anger. Never.
What the hell is
happening to us?
You've never talked
to me like that before.
It's all falling apart. First, we lose
Carey. Now your mother is slipping away.
Dad, she makes me
feel like I killed him.
Nick. Nick, look, I know
this isn't easy for you either.
We all loved Carey.
But whatever you and
I are going through,
is nothing compared to what
that woman must be going through.
She's drowning.
Just as sure as Carey
drowned, she's going under too.
And she will too,
unless we can help her.
Now, I can't do it alone.
I can't hold this family
together without your help.
Oh, excuse me.
Did you know that Carey would
never let me replace his old clothes.
I mean, would you
look at those tears?
I better get this
mended before...
What are you doing?
Just taking the tennis racket.
Put it back. That's
Carey's racket.
- I know, but...
- Put it back.
Ma, Carey's dead.
Keeping his room the way
it was won't bring him back!
Right this minute, young man!
I'm sorry.
Nick! Guard told me you
were here, nice surprise.
- To me too...
- Sit, sit. Come on.
I'm sorry about the
last time I was here.
I guess I had you all wrong.
Well you were right about
Carey not taking his own life.
You're the only one who's been honest
with us about what happened to Carey.
I didn't know who
else to turn to.
For what, Nick? What's wrong?
Everything's wrong.
Nothing's the
same since he died.
It's like there's a...
Big hole in the
middle of our lives.
You try to go around it,
to live your life,
but you can't.
You keep getting
sucked into that hole.
Except my mother.
She's living in some
kinda dream world.
She won't even admit
that he's really dead.
It's so weird.
I've never seen her like this...
And my father.
He's trying so hard
not to show the pain,
it's tearing him up.
What about you, Nick?
Me?
I'm so mad,
I'm so mad, I'm afraid I'm
gonna do something nuts.
I don't even know
who I'm mad at.
I mean, those
fraternity guys mostly.
My parents.
Sometimes I'm even mad at
Carey. I know that sounds terrible.
No it doesn't.
Anger's a natural thing
after a loss like this.
Maybe you're expecting too much
of yourself, Nick, and your parents.
All I know is,
things are getting
worse, not better.
Nick, if I could put all of you
in touch with someone who
might be able
to help all of you,
could you get them to go?
If we don't get some help,
and soon,
there's not gonna be
a family to worry about.
Diana, this is the police follow-up
after Doctor Quincy's report.
- Thanks, Bob.
- Yes, come in.
Quincy!
I'd like you to meet
Doctor Diana Green.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
Tops in her field.
Doctor Asten's said wonderful
things about your therapy programs.
I understand you're concerned
about the family of that boy
who died in the hazing.
Yes, I am.
I know your groups are mainly
families of murdered children.
From these reports
I've been reading,
what those young men
did amounts to murder.
I couldn't agree with you more.
The grief process is very much the
same any time a family member dies.
Only when it's
sudden, unexpected,
and particularly
when it's violent,
each stage of that process
is that much more intense,
and more frustrating.
When it's murder,
the family's suddenly forced
to deal with lots of outsiders.
Police, coroners,
sometimes the press.
And, it can be hellish.
And it can interfere
with the grieving.
What exactly do you
mean by 'the grief process'?
In a nutshell?
Four stages,
first there's...
The shock, the disbelief,
the denial, then...
Then, sadness, crushing
bouts of depression,
outpourings of grief.
Third is anger, at the world,
even at the one who died.
Finally, if you've been
through all the other three,
there's acceptance.
Well, what happens if you
don't go through all those stages?
Then you can be
in a lot of trouble.
You can get stuck.
There's no resolution,
no acceptance.
Well, I'm no authority,
but from what their son
told me, this family is stuck.
Just the way you describe it.
- Can you help them?
- If they'll see me.
If we can sit down
and talk about it.
Then, at least we've
got a fighting chance.
I guess the hardest part is...
Not being able to
get away from it.
I keep thinking about him
fighting for his
life in that water.
And those guys who made him
do it. All just for a stupid fraternity.
I can't help it. I think...
I think about killing them...
getting a gun, a knife, I don't know.
Walking right up
and killing them.
And then I think, I'm no
better than they are, am I?
Of course, you're angry.
When I heard how
Carey died, I was angry.
And I'm not a family member.
What about you, Mrs. Stadler.
Have you had feelings like that?
No, I really don't
have anything to say.
No one's here to
judge your feelings.
Come on, Ma. You
gotta say something.
That's why we came here.
No, that's why you came here.
I came here because you
wouldn't take no for an answer.
Brenna, please.
No, no. He forced
us to come here.
And now he's trying to force us to talk
about things I don't know anything about.
Mom, you've gotta at least try.
- Nicholas, stop hounding me!
- Ma, come on.
Better go look after my family.
They're the ones who
really need the help.
Thank you, Doctor.
You know, Mr. Stadler.
You have as much need to grieve
as either your wife or son.
And you haven't even begun.
Well, I have more important
things to do than cry, Doctor Green.
I was wrong...
The hardest part is knowing that this
could happen again to somebody else's kid.
I'm not so different than Nick.
I think about those boys, too.
The police said they
can't prove it's a crime.
I just accepted that.
It's what's been eating me up
inside and I didn't even know it.
Nick was right.
We can't let them
get away with it.
Hello, Gar.
Carey's things are on the desk.
You're moving too?
I move into the frat
house this afternoon.
Gar...
I need to know exactly
what happened to Carey.
I told you.
I told the police, too.
What else do you want?
The truth,
please.
It is the truth.
The whole truth?
Carey wasn't forced to drink?
No!
He wasn't forced to
make that swim that night?
No!
You were Carey's roommate,
his friend.
Who are you protecting?
Look,
Mr. Stadler.
I feel terrible about Carey.
But I can't bring him back.
And sir, I can't tell you
some thing happened,
just because it's
what you want to hear.
There's nothing
else we should know?
I've told you everything.
When Nick came to see you on
Sunday, you told him everything too.
Except that his
brother was dead.
Why should I believe you, now?
Wasn't that Carey's father?
It sure was.
Well, what did he want?
He wanted the truth.
Yeah well you didn't
tell him, did you?
No, I didn't.
I lied.
Rich...
Carey didn't save your life.
He saved mine.
Doctor Quincy.
Don't ask who this is.
I just wanted you to know that
Carey Stadler was forced into that lake
and he had his
wrists tied together.
Who is it?
Hello!
Hello!
Who was that on the phone?
Someone who claims Carey Stadler's wrists
were tied together the night he drowned.
You think it's a crank call?
I don't know.
The only way to find out is to
get permission to disinter the body,
and take a closer
look at the wrists.
I'll let you know
what we decide.
That was Doctor Quincy.
He said they got
an anonymous call.
Someone said that Carey...
that Carey's hands were tied
together when he drowned.
His hands were tied?
They really did murder Carey!
He wants permission to
dig up Carey's body,
to see if he can prove it.
It may be our only chance!
We've gotta let him do it.
I don't know.
I don't believe this.
Look at your mother.
Do we really want to put her
through the hell that this would mean?
I don't know.
You're not helping her, Dad!
You help her keep that lie alive,
and it's gonna hurt her even more.
Carey's gone!
She's not gonna bet
better until she accepts that!
That anonymous
caller wasn't a crank.
There's a slight crease
pattern in this bruise,
exactly the way it would be if a broad
band of material tied the wrists together.
Monahan said he needed more information?
And so did the District Attorney.
Well, now they've got it.
Did I interrupt something?
No, I was just
finishing these notes.
I brought you some flowers.
You know I don't like cut flowers.
They remind me of the funeral.
Carey always brought
me plants. Living plants.
I'll put them in water.
And now for my next surprise.
Don't you want
to know what it is?
Well, I don't really have the
energy for guessing games.
You know that
cabin on June Lake?
The one we spent that week
in when Carey and I were kids?
Well, I booked it
for next weekend.
Nick, how are we
gonna pay for that?
I took care of it. I
used my own money.
That's money for college.
I thought this was
more important.
Yeah well, I really don't
feel like going on a trip so
Why don't you
and your father go?
And leave you behind?
Now way! I did it for you, Ma.
I never asked you to.
You once said that cabin was in
the prettiest spot on Earth, remember?
Yeah, but that was
a long time ago.
Look, why don't you get your money
back and stop acting like a little fool!
Aha. Okay.
I can't do anything
right, can I?
I just wish everybody
would leave me alone.
Well, you got your wish.
I'm moving out of here.
You mean when you, when
you're going to Branham.
No, I'm not going to Branham.
Barry Cosgrove's uncle
has a body shop in Eureka.
He offered to take me
on as an apprentice, and
I think I just made up my mind!
Nick, come one. You can't mean that.
After all you did to make it to college?
It doesn't seem
important any more.
Well, I'm not surprised.
You never finished anything in
your life! You're certainly not...
Like Carey, right?
Go ahead and say
it, I'm not like Carey.
That's not what she
was going to say.
No? Ask her.
- Nick!
- You know Carey,
I never could compete with Carey.
He was always a little smarter,
a little more thoughtful. Mom
always loved him just a little more.
That's not true!
Tell him it isn't true.
It was hard enough keeping
up with Carey when he was alive.
How am I going to live up to your
memory of him now that he's dead?
If I stay here, I'll just
go on disappointing you.
You're not disappointing us!
Brenna, tell him!
Well if he feels uncomfortable in this
house, maybe he should look for another.
Do you know what
you've just said?
It wasn't like anybody
forced Carey into that water.
We all had a choice
about making that swim.
Here's my full report on that
re-autopsy of Carey Stadler.
Oh, thanks, Quincy.
I'll shoot it right over to
the DA as soon as I'm done.
What are we listening to?
I'm listening to
the kids testimony.
I know that voice.
That's the anonymous caller who
tipped me about the wrist restraints.
Well, he's not
anonymous anymore.
Gar Wyserwitz.
I was way behind Carey and Rich.
When I started seizing up,
my arms just locked.
I couldn't breathe.
Carey freed up his hands,
and he came back for me.
He saved my life.
Then he got you safely to shore?
Almost.
He was just too
exhausted to go on.
They tried saving him.
- Who did?
- Angus and Bo.
They swam out,
and dragged us both back.
But, for Carey, it was too late.
If Carey hadn't
gone back for me.
He'd be alive.
And I would've been the
one they put in the pool.
Thanks, Gar. That'll
be all. We'll be in touch.
Well, Jim, what do you think?
Well, as far as the
DA's office is concerned,
we don't have enough
for a murder case.
But you just heard him!
He was there! He saw it!
Carey's hands were tied when
he was forced to make that swim!
But he also said
Carey removed those
restraints when he
circled back to rescue Gar.
You can be sure the defense will claim that
he could've taken them off at any time,
and I'd be hard
put to disprove it.
On top of that, he just
corroborated the fact that
those boys tried to
save Carey Stadler.
You know what's ironic, the
best witness for the prosecution
winds up to be the best
witness for the defense.
Without clear evidence of malice,
I'd be crazy to go for a murder case.
What about dropping it into
involuntary manslaughter?
That's what I'm getting at.
I think they're ready
for a plea bargain.
You call it plea
bargaining! I call it a crime.
If I were you, Mr. Stadler,
I'd consider a civil case.
You have a better chance of winning
and you'd get some remuneration as well.
Is that what you think I want?
Listen, mister,
I haven't been putting my
family through this hell for money.
Of course not. That's
not what I mean...
Just tell me,
if they plead guilty to those
charges, what will they get?
It'll take some negotiating to
do, but I'd hold out for three years.
Three years in prison
for killing my son?
I'm afraid they wouldn't see any prison
time. Not if you want them to plead guilty.
Those three years would be
the length of their probation.
I was watching that!
I was just watching Nick.
Watching him sleep.
I was thinking it
was the last time.
All those years,
looking in on the boys,
to see if they were okay.
It's all over.
Brenna,
he's leaving tomorrow.
He's not a baby
anymore. I can't help that.
You're the only one
who can stop him!
He's leaving because he
thinks that's what you want!
Is it what you want?
Please, Ken, I can't
cope with all of this.
- Just let me be, please.
- No.
No more.
I've been tiptoeing around
you ever since Carey died.
I didn't want to make
you even more upset.
But, Brenna, open your eyes.
We're losing him. We're losing Nick!
And don't turn away from me.
I want you to hear this out.
Maybe Carey was your favorite.
But he's dead.
Maybe Nick was second best.
But he's alive, and he's
still part of this family!
Stop it!
You stop it!
Stop blaming Nick for
being the one to survive!
Why couldn't it have
been Nick who died?
So, Nicholas is
leaving me today.
Oh, I feel dizzy.
I can't even talk to my husband
about this, how am I gonna talk to you.
Maybe it'll help
you to know that,
not all my learning
came from books.
I've been through
this same agony.
My eight-year-old son was
abducted in a shopping mall.
I turned around for a
second and he was gone.
Three days later they
found him in a storm drain.
His throat was cut.
I am a therapist, but in no way
was I equipped to cope with the pain.
Not until I went into grief
counseling with a specialist,
so you see, I'm not a stranger.
It hurts so bad.
Because, I never had a
chance to say good-bye.
I never had a chance
to get ready, to be prepared,
to tell him all the things I wanted
to tell him while Carey was alive.
Sometimes,
I think I'll wake up
and it will all be a bad dream.
And then Nicholas comes in
and shows me it's not a bad dream.
I don't like that.
I don't want him to
take Carey's place.
Nobody is going to
take Carey's place.
Not for any of you.
Not in your hearts.
Not in your lives.
If you ask me,
will I laugh again,
enjoy myself, be
close to others?
The answer is yes.
But if you ask me
will I ever get over it?
Will I ever stop
feeling the loss?
Yeah.
The answer is no.
Even after you've
accepted Carey's death,
the void he left behind,
it'll never be filled.
Nick's not Carey.
He's a separate person.
You lose him, and you will
feel a loss you haven't felt yet.
I know.
Where's Ma?
Out.
What'd she do? Go shopping?
That's just terrific.
I'm leaving and she can't
even be here to say good-bye.
Why don't you call Barry.
Tell him you need
more time to think it over.
He'll be here any minute.
The plant called this morning.
They got a new contract.
Going back to work next week.
That's wonderful, Dad.
So, things will
be back to normal.
Without Carey?
We'll keep going to
see Doctor Green.
She'll help us work things out.
How? Mom won't
go. You know that!
She has to go!
- I'll make her go!
- It won't work.
Look, I don't want to
leave you and Mom.
I can't watch her heart break every time
she looks at me and wishes I were Carey.
I see you're all packed.
Where have you been?
Talking to someone.
Barry's here.
I don't want you to go.
What?
We need you.
I need you.
What about Carey?
Carey's dead.
We'll always love him.
But if keeping him alive
means losing you,
I have to let him go.
I love you.
Come here!
I love you!
I love you too.
Everything about a
commencement says tradition.
The diplomas inscribed in Latin,
these ceremonial robes,
the gathering of
family and friends.
I'm a great believer in tradition.
It connects us with the past.
But I am not a believer in a
tradition that stays in the past.
A tradition that has allowed 5,000
years of civilization to pass it by.
They tested necessary
survival skills.
They were challenges
that had meaning.
Not so, with hazing.
It has no meaning.
It has no purpose.
Carey Stadler was
an exceptional child.
But, so are the rest of you.
His father told me,
he was one of those kids
who loved a challenge.
But you lied to him.
You told him that hazing was
a mountain he had to climb.
For what purpose?
To help him survive? No.
To enlighten him? No.
How does it prepare you for the
future, to drink enough alcohol,
fast enough to
poison your blood?
Or to swim across a lake in a drunken
stupor with your hands tied together.
Over the last decade,
sixty young people have lost
their lives in hazing incidents.
Please,
don't ask another Carey Stadler
to put his life on the line for nothing.
He went to college, not to war.
He died on a dare
defending nothing.
For the benefit of no one.
Nothing could be further
from the real meaning
of tradition, that
it should value life.
Not destroy it.
So, please, tell those who
follow in your footsteps,
that it's high time a
new tradition started.
One that eliminates
senseless rituals, like hazing.
Because, unless you do,
unless you allow 5,000
years of civilization
to catch up with
your sense of right,
Carey's death would
have been meaningless.
It's up to you.